


All the things that we dream about

by elivigar



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Swearing, Sweat, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar
Summary: The guy - Ashton, Calum reminds himself - on the other side of the door is all bright smiles when he locks eyes with Calum. At least Calum thinks so; it’s a little hard to tell on account of the mask he’s wearing. “Hey,” he says. “You Calum? I’m Ashton.”Nodding and smiling, Calum steps aside to let Ashton in. “Wasn’t a hundred percent sure you were gonna turn up, to be honest,” Calum says as Ashton drops a seemingly heavy bag on the floor.In which Calum needs a personal trainer during quarantine and Ashton is everything he could've hoped for and more.
Relationships: Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 79





	All the things that we dream about

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this prompt just... ran away with me, like super badly. I intended for it to be around 3k, but it turned out to be 11k, and I have zero excuses whatso-fucking-ever. Anyway, this thingy never would've happened without [Crystal's](https://kindahoping4forever.tumblr.com) initial idea or if [Beth](https://pxrxmoore.tumblr.com) hadn't brought the whole thing to my attention, so here's a shout-out to them! Also thank you to everyone in the 5sos Club™ for listening to my constant shrieks of despair as this thing just kept getting longer and longer and to [Bella](https://clumsyclifford.tumblr.com) for being a darling sunshine and not kicking me the heck of that godforsaken yet blessed server despite all my whining. I had a fucking blast writing this piece of shit, so I hope some of you all enjoy reading it as well♥♥♥ 
> 
> (And if some days or whatever don't line up, please feel free to tell me - I might have overlooked something despite my 60k rounds of editing! Same thing applies if I've messed up some workout terminology; English isn't my first language, so while I try my best, it's not unlikely that I'll have have messed up 578 times. Any mistakes or inconsistencies basically - feel more than free to let me know!)

The whole concept of working out in his own home feels foreign to Calum. He hasn’t done any home workouts since he was in his teens, and doing it when he’s in his mid-twenties feels off. One of the things he enjoys the most about going to the gym is the generally energetic vibe, the smell of sweat and rubber and a hint of something sweet that he’s never been able to place. But, as with so many other things, Covid has put his gym sessions on hold. In addition to the aforementioned factors, he misses his trainer, a sweet and tiny girl named Gina who could probably kick Calum’s ass if she had to.

In light of the current situation, however, Calum discovered a short while back that an influx of PTs offering to come to people’s houses to help out, for not much more than a normal PT fee. He remembers combing through ad after ad, attempting to find ads that seemed legit and also someone who looked like they could be a good match for him. He found one, eventually, and as he’s currently standing in his living room, warming up the best he can, he wonders if the guy is gonna show up or if Calum’s fallen prey to a scam. 

Truth to be told, it wouldn’t be the first time.

He makes it through a solid portion of his warm up routine, having just gotten started on the mountain climbers, when his doorbell chimes. Getting up on his feet, he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand as he walks towards the entrance hall. Not that it matters much, but he’s acutely aware of how sweaty he is as he unlocks the door and swings it open.

The guy - Ashton, Calum reminds himself - on the other side of the door is all bright smiles when he locks eyes with Calum. At least Calum thinks so; it’s a little hard to tell on account of the mask he’s wearing. “Hey,” he says. “You Calum? I’m Ashton.”

Nodding and smiling, Calum steps aside to let Ashton in. “Wasn’t a hundred percent sure you were gonna turn up, to be honest,” Calum says as Ashton drops a seemingly heavy bag on the floor.

“I’d love to tell you off for not trusting me, but I’ve heard no less than six actual stories of people being scammed by these so-called PTs offering to come home to clients, so…” Ashtons trails off with a shrug. Giving Calum a quick once over, he adds, “Are you naturally sweaty or have you gotten a head start?”

“Both,” Calum says, to which Ashton snorts. “No, I just did my warm-ups. I don’t need any help with that, so figured I’d just get it out of the way.”

“Not to complain about my job or anything, but I’m pretty grateful,” Ashton says, grinning. “Can’t say watching people warm up is my favourite part of the job.”

Calum lets his mouth drop open in faux-shock. “Really?”

Ashton laughs. “Uh-huh, believe it or not. So, wanna tell me a little bit about yourself before we get started?”

“What, like my age, marital status and favourite movie?”

“More like what you need my help with and what your foundation is, but… sure, tell me your age, marital status and favourite movie if you feel like it.”

“25, single and _Interstellar_ ,” Calum says, and Ashton laughs again. He’s got quite a lovely laugh. “No, I… I have a pretty good foundation, but I started bulking up a little recently and I need some help nailing down the right form for some new exercises that my usual PT didn’t get around to before lockdown struck. I tried fixing it myself by looking in the mirror, but I couldn’t quite figure out what I was doing wrong.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Ashton says with a nod. “Wanna just get started, then?”

It takes a solid hour and fifteen minutes to get through the entire routine, much because the exercises Calum knew he was struggling with weren’t the only ones he was doing wrong. Embarrassed as he is that he’s apparently been doing freakin’ _dead-lifts_ wrong, he actually finds comfort in the fact that Ashton snickers at his frustrated grumbles before he places his gloved up hands on Calum’s hips to keep his form right.

Calum collapses on the living room floor when he finally gets through the last round of reps. Every square inch of his skin is soaked through, and he lies there on his back until his breathing’s more or less back to normal. When he opens his eyes, Ashton’s looking down at him and though his mouth is hidden from sight, a smile is revealed by how the skin around his eyes is crinkled up.

“Good workout?” he asks as he leans down to grab Calum’s hands to help him up.

“Yeah,” Calum says as he lets himself be pulled to his feet. His legs feel like jelly, and he can only hope that they wait until Ashton’s left to give in.

“You’re a fast learner,” Ashton says as he lets go of Calum’s hands and takes a step back. “I think you could benefit from another session or two, though, if you’re up for it.”

“I- yeah, absolutely,” Calum says. “Not like I have much else to spend my money on these days, so another session or two sounds good.”

“Great! I don’t have my calendar on me, but I have your number, so I’ll just text you when I know when I’m free, if that’s alright?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.” Clearing his throat, he wipes a droplet of sweat from his forehead. “I should probably hit the shower before my entire flat gets flooded.”

“Reckon you’ve got about three minutes before it’s too late,” Ashton says as he gives Calum’s body a quick once over. Calum may be mistaken, but it looks like Ashton’s eyes linger for an extra second on his chest. A tiny part of him hopes that he’s not mistaken.

Ashton bids his goodbyes with another smile and a wave, leaving Calum with nothing to focus on but how his muscles are screaming in pain. He somehow manages to take a shower without dropping to the floor, and once he’s done and dressed, he all but waddles out to the living room and falls over on the couch and closes his eyes. It’s not intentional and truth to be told, he’s not even entirely sure how it happens, but before he knows it, he’s fallen asleep.

When he wakes up, it’s dark outside and he feels vaguely nauseous. As he sits up to grab his phone from the coffee table, he groans loudly at the sharp ache in his stomach, thighs and ass. Dragging one hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it, he unlocks the phone, and groans once again when he realises it’s almost nine o’clock; he’s not gonna be able to sleep tonight, then. A couple of unopened Snapchats are waiting for him, along with a text message from an unknown number.

‘ _Hey! It’s Ashton, I checked my calendar and I’m free on Friday afternoon and Saturday evening this week, and all of Monday next week :))) Let me know!_ ’

Mulling it over for a bit, Calum starts typing out an answer. ‘ _i don’t get of work until five on friday but saturday evening sounds good! when where you thinking?_ ’

A reply ticks in less than a minute later. ‘ _Eight o’clock?_ ’ Before Calum’s even started to type, another message arrives. ‘ _And your grammar is terrible, by the way ;)_ ’

Calum laughs, a little surprised. ‘ _don’t even know what that word means mate! but yeah eight sounds good i’ll see you then._ ’

With a smile tugging at his lips, Calum drags himself to his feet and goes to the kitchen to find something to eat.

****

**˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊**

As he gets through the week, one day at the time, Calum finds himself looking more and more forward to Saturday. He tries to convince himself that it’s because he has the day off and won’t have to deal with angry customers who blame him for their printer not working. Truth to be told, though, it has more to do with the fact that he looks forward to seeing Ashton again. Or maybe he’s just looking forward to socialising, even if it’s with someone he’s paying.

And then Saturday comes and goes. Calum’s second session with Ashton is just as successful as the first. When it’s over, he’s sweaty and everything aches. Part of said aching stems from Ashton having made him laugh so hard he nearly doubled over more than once. As Ashton’s about to leave, Calum catches himself wishing that Ashton could take off his mask so that his whole face would be on display. He’d love to see what Ashton actually looks like when he’s smiling or laughing.

They schedule another session for the following Monday, then another one for Thursday, and before Calum knows it, several weeks have passed, and he has no idea how many times Ashton’s been to his house. 

Something he can’t help but take notice of is the fact that for each appointment, it seems to take a little longer for Ashton to leave after his work’s done. After a late afternoon appointment is over, Ashton actually joins Calum on the couch as they watch the last half of an episode of _MasterChef Australia_ , and Calum learns that Ashton knows how to cook. 

After another appointment, they wind up chatting about everything and nothing in the kitchen for a solid half hour while drinking coffee. Calum learns miscellaneous details about Ashton that day, like how he loves his siblings and his mum to death, how he dabbled around with painting, cooking classes and some Spanish courses before deciding to try and make it as a PT, and how he’s single. A surge of something decidedly happy flows through Calum at the latter. In return, Calum tells Ashton about how his family lives hours away and that he misses them a lot, how he’s currently working in customer service, but that he’s been thinking about getting a degree in nutrition, and about how he has a fair few acquaintances, but that he’s not really close to anyone but Michael and Luke.

All the while as Calum talks, Ashton eyes him with great interest and nods and hums and occasionally offers his point of view.

Calum wishes more than ever that Ashton could take his mask off.

****

**˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊**

“Alright, come on,” Ashton urges, bent over with his elbows perched on his thighs as he eyes Calum intently. “Two more now and you’re done for the day.”

Calum grunts in an entirely unsexy manner as he steadies the bar on his shoulders and pushes himself up to a standing position. As he lowers himself down one last time, he feels his body threatening to fail him; his knees are wobbly and there’s no strength left in him at all. Somehow, he manages to push himself up one last time, and then Ashton’s behind him, freeing his shoulders from the barbell, and Calum immediately drops to all fours, panting like a wounded animal.

“I hate you so much,” he groans as he slumps forward on his forearms and his cheek makes contact with the parquet floor.

There’s no response, and Calum musters up the energy to lift his head slightly and look at Ashton. He’s standing right next to Calum, and his eyes are wide and glued to… well, to Calum, but certainly not to his face. Calum bites his lip as a shiver runs through his entire body, top to bottom.

As if pulling himself out of a dream, Ashton shakes his head and coughs. “I- yeah, sorry,” he says, smiling at Calum. “You did great.”

“Thanks, but I still hate you,” Calum says. “You’re destroying me.”

Ashton mumbles something inaudible under his breath.

“What?” Calum says as he manages to stand up, only to stagger over to the couch and collapse.

“Nothing,” Ashton says with another shake of his head. He walks over to the couch and joins Calum. Rubbing his eyes, he yawns and stretches his arms above his head. “Sorry. Been a long day. I have no idea why, but for some reason, I always have more appointments on Mondays than any other day of the week.”

“People might need a kickstart to their week,” Calum suggests. “Or they just wanna get your visit out of the way early on, so they can enjoy the other days without having to see your face. Or, half your face.”

Ashton laughs and gives Calum’s shin a gentle kick. “Cheeky.”

“It was right there, had to take the opportunity.”

“Uh-huh, whatever you say, babe.” Calum blinks and slowly turns to look at Ashton, who in turn seems to have realised what he just said. “Sorry, that just… slipped out,” he says with an uneasy chuckle. Straightening his trousers, he stands up. “I should probably get going.”

“I- yeah, okay,” Calum says. They look at each other for a few seconds, and it’s not awkward, but it feels heavily loaded, somehow. In the end, Ashton offers another smile and a quick, “Bye,” before he walks with quick steps out of sight. After a few seconds, the front door opens, then slams shut, and Calum slides further down on the couch and moans.

As he goes about the rest of his evening, Calum can’t stop thinking about Ashton’s words. One word in particular. ‘Babe’. Calum may not be the biggest optimist when it comes to his love life, but surely, if Ashton didn’t mean anything by what he said, he wouldn’t have become so flustered and all but ran out, would he? 

As he lies in bed and tries to fall asleep, that particular thought keeps haunting him.

****

**˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊**

Ashton doesn’t address his little mishap the next time they see each other. As a matter of fact, nothing he says or does indicates that anything weird has ever gone down between them. Calum isn’t one to dwell on the past, and while he’d love to ask Ashton if he meant anything by what he said or if it really was just a glitch, he keeps his mouth shut.

What good would it do to address something that Ashton would clearly like to forget? As much as Calum has come to like him on a personal level, he’s not willing to risk pushing away the best PT he’s ever had just because something akin to emotions got in the way. Though, something else that keeps haunting him, is the fact that it’s not like he _needs_ Ashton for workout-purposes anymore, and surely Ashton has to know that, too? But they still continue to schedule new sessions, and neither of them ever mention that maybe it’s time they part ways.

“What?”

Luke raises an eyebrow at him through the screen. “What do you mean ‘what’?” he asks. “I hate to break it to you, but hanging out with your PT in your living room or whatever after he’s done his job isn’t _normal_. Not to mention that he off-handedly called you ‘babe’. I mean, you _are_ a total babe, but…”

“Thanks,” Calum says dryly.

“Oh, come on,” Michael says, rolling his eyes. “He obviously likes you. Or, thinks you’re hot at least.”

“No, no, if he just thought Cal was hot, he wouldn’t have bothered with just… hanging out with him all the time, completely innocently,” Luke says. “He’d have just made a move ages ago and that would’ve been it.”

“Fair point,” Michael muses. “Sorry, Cal, but he might actually like you. Like, feelings and roses and… whatever.”

“And whatever,” Calum repeats as he rubs his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe he’s just friendly. I don’t even know if he’s into guys.”

“Didn’t you say he was checking out your ass a little while back?” Luke asks, to which Calum responds with a noncommittal sound. “Yeah, see, straight guys don’t check out other guys’ asses. I wouldn’t check out a guy’s ass.”

Calum snorts out a laugh. “You’ve complimented my ass at least three times in the last six months alone, you dumbfuck.”

“That’s just called being comfortable with your sexuality and knowing how to appreciate the aesthetically pleasing things in life. Anyway, my point is that-”

“I got your point,” Calum cuts in.

“Cool,” Michael says. “Go act on it, then. Aren’t there, like, a million porn movies centred around trainers and their clients? Take some inspiration from one of those.”

“Yeah, okay, I’m just gonna put on some extra tight shorts and nothing on my upper body the next time he comes over,” Calum says dryly. “And I’ll make sure to bend over a lot and smear my chest and thighs with baby oil before he arrives.”

“Atta boy,” Michael says while Luke gives two thumbs up.

Calum responds by closing his laptop and falling back against the couch.

He truly hates his friends and their warped view on everything and anything related to social situations. 

When he the next day is getting ready for another session with Ashton, however, there’s a slight possibility that he purposefully puts on the flimsiest tank top he owns and pairs it with a pair of shorts that are just a little bit too tight and a little bit too short. He just wants to see Ashton’s reaction, is all. Surely, that can’t hurt?

When the doorbell rings at six o’clock on the dot, Calum’s just finished his warmup and is in the kitchen gulping down a generous glass of water. While shooting a prayer to the high heavens that Ashton’s reaction isn’t gonna be anything along the lines of, “What the hell are you wearing?”, he opens the door to let him in.

It’s not until he’s gotten inside and removed his shoes and his jacket that Ashton lays eyes on Calum. He looks him up and down a couple of times, before he meets Calum’s gaze and smiles crookedly. “Planning on getting extra sweaty today?” he asks.

“Whatever you want,” Calum says before he can stop himself. Next thing he knows, he’d quite like to go hide in his bed, because he doesn’t think anything as terrible as _that_ has ever come out of his mouth before. As a general rule, he has no trouble flirting, but he doesn’t flirt like that and he certainly doesn’t flirt like that with a person he’s _paying_. Could he be sued for sexual harassment? Oh _God_ , could he be _sued_ for _sexual harassment_?

“I…” Ashton trails off and looks down at Calum’s partly exposed chest for a split second before he, without warning, steps past Calum towards the living room. “Let’s just get started, okay?”

The session passes in a relatively normal manner; Calum does his repetitions and Ashton gives words of encouragement and points it out whenever he does something that isn’t one hundred percent correct. Something Calum can’t help but take notice of, however, is that Ashton looks at him a little more intensely than he usually does. While it may put him at risk of humiliating himself completely and utterly, he can’t quite resist the temptation of exaggerating every movement he does, just a little. A little more sway in his back, a little further out with his chest and his ass, a little more flex in his thighs and arms.

Once the training session is over, Calum goes to the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water before returning to sit on the couch. Ashton sits down next to him and they sit in silence for a bit as the TV drones on in the background.

“You know,” Ashton starts, “I think you’re the only client I have or have ever had who prefers to work out to TV noise rather than to music.”

“Really?” Calum asks, eyebrows shooting up. “I’ve always found it more easy to focus with some show playing in the background than to music. Gives me something to focus on, I guess, makes it easier to forget the fact that I keep almost dying.”

Ashton laughs, tossing his head back. “Almost dying or not, you’ve made a ton of progress since I first met you. Don’t know if you see it yourself, but you’re more defined now and… some muscles are noticeably bigger.”

Calum desperately wants to ask Ashton what muscles he’s referring to, but he feels like he’s been playing with the line enough today. “I haven’t really noticed, no,” he says, honestly. “But good to know. Thanks.”

Ashton hums. “And, another thing: Do you have any idea how much sweat there has to be on this couch by now?”

“Not like anyone but me sits on it these days,” Calum says, but yes, he has indeed thought about it a couple of times, and it grosses him out.

“I sit on it,” Ashton argues. “At least once a week lately.”

“Which you choose to do despite knowing how much of my sweat is probably soaked into the cushions.”

Ashton turns his head to look Calum in the eyes, and his eyes are glinting. “Fair enough,” he says as he nudges Calum’s knee with his own.

“You’re free to _not_ sit on it,” Calum says as he returns the knee-nudge.

“Where do you want me to sit, then?” Ashton asks.

It’s completely quiet for a moment, then Calum feels a bark of laughter bubble up in his throat. “Do you want the clean answer or the X-rated one?” he laughs.

Ashton hesitates for a couple of seconds, and judging by how his eyes are shifting, he seems to be battling some sort of inner turmoil. Calum merely waits, doesn’t know what he dares to hope for, really, except for Ashton to _not_ tell him that saying things like that is completely out of line and that he’d better find a new PT.

As he waits with bated breath, maintaining eye contact with Ashton as he does, he draws a sharp breath when there’s suddenly a firm, warm presence on his thigh. He looks down to where Ashton’s hand is splayed out, the tips of his fingers making contact with the bare skin above Calum’s knees.

A surge of heat shoots through him as he keeps his eyes on Ashton’s hand, and semi-subconsciously he parts his legs just the slightest bit. Turning his head to look at Ashton, he finds him looking back with a hard look in his eyes. Biting the inside of his cheek, Calum slowly raises a hand towards Ashton’s face. He tangles his fingers in the semi-curly hair right above Ashton’s ear, and Ashton releases a strained breath.

Just as Calum has half a thought to hook Ashton’s mask off, a sudden loud noise makes them both jump sideways away from each other. Calum wants to scream when he realises that the noise was his fucking _phone_ vibrating against the coffee table with an incoming call from Luke.

“I should get going,” Ashton says as he practically jumps to his feet. “I’ll see you on Saturday, yeah?” And then he’s off to the entrance hall, and Calum grits his teeth as he picks up his phone and answers the call with a tired, “What?”

“Nice to hear your voice, too,” says Luke on the other end. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know, but I really don’t wanna talk right now, so can I call you back tomorrow or something?”

Luke’s quiet for a moment. “You okay?”

“I don’t know that either,” Calum says with a humourless laugh.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t _know_!”

“Calm down, will you?” Luke huffs. “What’s wrong? Work? Your family?” Pause. “Ashton?”

Calum falls sideways onto the couch and screws his eyes shut. “Maybe. I don’t know. He was here and… no, it was… nothing, I guess.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, _nothing_ ,” Luke says flatly. “That’s why you’re all fidgety and pretty much yelling at me for no reason?”

“I’m _not_ -” Calum cuts himself upon realising that he is, in fact, yelling. Inhaling deeply, he continues. “Sorry. Something almost happened, I think, but then you called and-”

“Oh, are you kidding me?” Luke groans, and it sounds like he just slapped himself. “You almost got somewhere and _I_ was the one to fuck it up? Shit… sorry, mate.”

“No, it’s… whatever,” Calum says half-heartedly. “Probably for the best anyway, innit?”

“Why? Because he’s your PT? No law against getting together with your PT, is there?”

“Not that I know of, but it feels… not okay.”

“You’re an idiot, and you’re also wrong.”

They argue back and forth for a while until Calum tells Luke that he needs to take a shower before he freezes to death. Luke lets him go somewhat reluctantly with another apology, and Calum can’t bring himself to answer with anything but a quiet, “Yeah,” because truth to be told, he is a little frustrated with Luke. Not that it’s Luke’s fault, not really, but still.

Calum takes his time in the shower, leaning against the wall with one hand while letting his head hang low as his thoughts spiral left and right. He clenches his jaw when his thoughts drift to how Ashton’s hand had felt on his thigh, solid and warm, and he finds himself sporting a semi. Washing his hair and his body, he tries to ignore it, but his thoughts keep straying until he’s got full-blown fantasies roaming around. Albeit unhappy about it, he eventually gives in and jerks himself off while thinking about Ashton in an assortment of decidedly compromising positions and situations. He comes to the thought of blowing Ashton when they’re both sweaty and exhausted after a solid workout, and he feels so guilty afterwards that he cleans his entire body all over again.

****

**˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊**

Calum wakes up at eleven o’clock on Saturday and spends the entire afternoon lying on the couch, drinking too much coffee and watching an eternal string of _Two and a Half Men_ reruns. At a quarter past seven, Michael sends him a link to a Zoom meeting, and Calum grunts with the effort of grabbing his laptop from the floor underneath the coffee table. Waiting for it to turn on, he opens the Zoom-link and as soon as he’s in, his ears are filled with loud voices. It’s comical, he thinks, how two people can make that much noise.

“Hey, what’s up?” he half-shouts when neither Michael nor Luke seem to have even noticed him entering.

“Oh, hey,” Michael says, grinning. “Nothing much. What about you?”

“Just being lazy,” Calum says, shrugging.

“Isn’t Ashton coming over today?” Luke asks. “Dunno if I’d call working out being ‘lazy’.”

“For now I’m being lazy,” Calum corrects. “Haven’t moved all day.”

“What, you’ve just eaten crumbs you’ve found between the cushions and done your business right there? Remind me to never sit on your couch again, man.”

Calum blows a breath through his nose, but can’t help but grin. “You’re absolutely hilarious, Michael; do you know that?”

“Don’t encourage him,” Luke says. “That’s what we were arguing about when you came in, whether or not ‘funny’ pick up-lines are the way to go.”

“Oh, right, so you’ve regressed about ten years and are now teenagers,” Calum says, feigning an understanding nod. “Good to know, thanks for letting me know.”

Luke grins. “Dunno what you’re doing hanging out with two teenagers, bro. That’s kinda creepy of you.”

“Yeah, well, can’t make any friends my own age, so I had to turn to the teenagers who think I’m cool simply for being in my twenties.”

“Actually we pity you,” Michael chimes in. “Pretty sad to see a grown man wandering along the streets, alone and friendless, so we decided to take pity on you.”

“Very charitable of you,” Calum laughs. “Didn’t know that’s why-” He’s cut off mid-sentence by the doorbell ringing. Checking the time on his laptop, he frowns; it’s only a little past seven thirty, so it’s too early to be Ashton. “Someone’s at my door,” he says, turning back to the laptop. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, just assume I’ve been murdered and call the cops.”

“Okay, have fun,” Michael calls after him as he gets up and goes to open the door.

When he unlocks the door and opens it, he’s more than a little surprised to see that it’s indeed Ashton who rang the bell. A soaking wet Ashton, that is. It’s only then that Calum notices that it’s pouring down.

“Jesus, come in,” he says, stepping aside and holding the door open for Ashton to step inside. Once he’s closed the door, he looks at Ashton, and as pitiful as the sight is, he can’t help but laugh. “What the hell happened?”

“My car’s in the shop, so I had to take the bus,” Ashton says as he pushes his hood back and unzips the hoodie. “Turns out a five minute walk from the bus stop in pouring rain is enough to get you drenched.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Calum snorts. Taking a look at the dripping mask covering the lower half of Ashton’s face, he makes a grimace. “Don’t know how much good that masks doing you when it’s all… wet.”

Ashton blinks. “Potentially not a lot,” he says. “You’re not sick or anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Calum says. “I haven’t really been physically close to anyone in real life in weeks, other than you, and at work I’m just in my office anyway, so… it should be alright.”

“Okay, I’ll just… take it off, then,” Ashton says as he starts hooking the elastics of the mask off his ears. Locking eyes with Calum, as if asking if he’s sure it’s alright, he then lowers the mask and stuffs it in the pocket of his joggers.

Calum tries not to stare, he really does, but the fact of the matter is that Ashton is… really handsome. Stupidly so, even. “Nice to see your face,” he says when he realises that he is, in fact, staring.

Ashton laughs. “Yeah, thanks,” he says. “I know I’m early, sorry about that, but buses and… all, so I don’t reckon you’ve warmed up already?”

Throwing a look at his own outfit, which consists of jeans and a hoodie, Calum raises his eyebrows at Ashton. “Can’t say I have, no,” he says.

“No matter,” Ashton says easily. Biting his lip, he gives Calum an almost nervous glance. “Look, I hate to ask,” he starts, “I know it's super unprofessional of me, but I’m… really wet, like soaked to the bones, and I’d really rather not catch a cold, so is there any chance you could lend me something to wear?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, of course,” Calum says, giving himself an internal slap across the wrist for not having thought to offer. Moving towards his bedroom, he says, “Gimme a minute and I’ll find something, just go wait in the living room.”

He rummages through his closet and pulls out a pair of light grey joggers and a simple black t-shirt, along with a pair of socks and some boxers. Stopping for a moment to consider if it’s weird to offer Ashton to borrow a pair of underwear, he shakes his head; having one’s junk enveloped by cold, wet fabric is nothing short of disgusting. Far more disgusting than borrowing someone else’s underwear.

Upon returning to the living room, Calum hears laughter and then Ashton saying something he can’t decipher, and it’s only then that he remembers that Michael and Luke are still on the Zoom call. Walking to the couch, which Ashton is crouched down next to, eyes on the laptop screen, he dumps the dry clothes on the coffee table before turning his attention to the laptop.

“Good to know no one murdered you,” Luke says. “We were starting to wonder.”

“Yeah, well, a soaking wet stranger turned up on my door and I had no choice but to let him in,” Calum says.

“Do that a lot, do you?” Ashton asks, grinning up at Calum. “Letting wet strangers into your home?”

“Nah, he only does that if the stranger’s hot,” Michael says. “Bit of a slag, he is.”

Calum widens his eyes at the screen. “I don’t- oh, fuck you, Michael.”

Ashton’s laughing, though, and so is Luke. “Hey, we all got our preferences,” Ashton says.

“See? No harm done,” Michael says, and he looks entirely too pleased with himself.

Calum sighs and shakes his head. “I’m just gonna say bye to you two now, okay?” he says as he reaches for the mousepad.

“Okay, be safe, wear a condom!” Michael just barely has the time to shout before Calum’s disconnected and slammed the laptop closed. He hates his friends sometimes.

“Sorry about that,” Calum says as he grabs the clothes from the table and hands them to Ashton. “I love them, but… Jesus.”

“Nah, it’s alright, they seem like fun,” Ashton says as he accepts the clothes. Looking around for a moment, he adds, “Where’s your bathroom?”

“Down the hall, first door on the right,” Calum says, pointing a finger in the general direction of the bathroom.

Once Ashton’s closed the bathroom door behind himself, Calum pulls his phone out of his pocket and opens the group chat he, Michael and Luke have on Messenger. He quickly types out, ‘ _whats wrong with you????!_ ’ and sends it.

They’re both typing as soon as Calum’s message has been delivered.

‘ _Oh come off it, he’s hot! And he seems nice too!_ ’ says Michael, while Luke chimes in with a simple, ‘ _You’re welcome :D_ ’

Calum hates his friends more than he could possibly express with words. A punching bag might do the trick.

Ashton returns to the living room, dry save for his hair, and he looks unbelievably good in Calum’s clothes. Shoulders and chest a little too broad, arms a little too big, making the fabric of the t-shirt stretch borderline obscenely. Calum excuses himself, somewhat clumsily, to go put on workout-clothes and doesn’t wait for Ashton to react before he stalks off.

Finding and changing into workout-clothes doesn’t take more than a minute or so, but steeling himself to go back out to the living room takes infinitely longer. The memories of their last encounter are still fresh in his mind, and as is the fact that he got off to the thought of Ashton later that same evening. Not to mention how Ashton’s currently wearing Calum’s clothes and that something about that is dangerously attractive.

When he eventually emerges from his bedroom, Ashton’s plonked himself down on the couch and has switched the channel to watch a reality show of sorts that Calum doesn’t recognise.

“I was beginning to think you’d died in there,” Ashton says as he gets up.

“How do you reckon I’d die in my bedroom without any further ado?” Calum asks as he does everything in his power to keep his eyes firmly locked on Ashton’s face and not on anything else of his. It’s not exactly a hardship; after weeks and weeks of wanting to see Ashton’s face, it’s nothing short of wonderful to finally get his wish fulfilled.

Ashton shrugs. “Serial killer might have been hiding. Or maybe you have a heart condition you haven’t told me about.”

“Didn’t see any serial killers, and I’m as healthy as they come,” Calum says, smiling.

“The serial killer might be hiding in your closet, just waiting for you to be alone in here.”

Still smiling, Calum shakes his head as he steps out to the middle of the floor and gets started on warming up. He ignores Ashton’s eyes on him, but he feels them burning holes in every single part of his body as he jumps, bends, stretches and runs on the spot. Attempting to not read too much into it and telling himself that Ashton’s probably always kept his eyes on Calum while he’s warming up, that it’s nothing new, is difficult. He tries focusing on whatever’s going on on the TV, but it’s as if the sound and picture are fogged up and the only one hundred percent clear thing in his immediate vicinity is Ashton.

He’s sweating profusely and he knows his face must be approximately the same colour as a beetroot by the time he’s finished warming up. Not that he’s the least bit exhausted, he’s just… sweaty. Going to fetch the barbell from the semi-hidden corner where he keeps all his workout supplies, Calum puts on the right weight plates, then returns to the middle of the room and lies down on his back.

“Thrusts?” Ashton asks as Calum gets in position. “Thought today was upper body day.”

“I did some upper body stuff yesterday,” Calum says. “My back’s pretty damn sore from it, so…”

Ashton hums. “Alright. Focus on your lumbar, then, yeah? Remember-”

“Yeah, I remember,” Calum says as he raises his hips from the floor with a grunt. “It curves too much.”

Crouching down next to Calum, Ashton says, “It’s gotten a lot better, though. The first time I saw you do it, I was half-convinced your back was gonna snap.”

Calum laughs, albeit a little strained as he lowers his hip back down, then goes back up. “Bet you that would’ve been a first in your PT career.”

“Uh-huh, and not a very welcome first either,” Ashton snorts. “Look, is it okay if I put my hands on you?”

Calum loses his grip on the barbell for a moment, and it rolls halfway up his stomach before he catches it and manages to push it back. “You- what?” he asks as he readjusts his position and gets started on another rep.

“You’re still curving your spine a little,” Ashton says. “It’s not a lot, but I don’t want you to get back problems before you hit thirty just because I didn’t do enough to correct your posture, so… can I put a hand on your stomach and one on your back to help you get a feel of how-”

“Oh, right,” Calum cuts in as his cheeks flare bright red. “Yeah, sure, just… do what you gotta do, I guess.”

Sitting down with his legs folded underneath him, Ashton clears his throat. Maintaining his position, hips raised, Calum sneaks a quick look at Ashton’s face. The sight that greets him nearly makes him drop the barbell again. Ashton’s jaw is visibly clenched and he seems to have a million thoughts running through his head, his eyes dark and firmly locked on Calum’s hips as he slowly raises his hands. Quickly shifting his gaze back to his own body, Calum bites his lip when Ashton places one hand on his stomach and one on his back and puts a little pressure on both.

“Feel that?” Ashton asks.

Calum wants to groan that yes, of fucking course he feels it, but he doesn’t think that’s quite what Ashton meant, so instead he nods and mumbles, “Yeah, it feels better.” Because it does feel better; he can feel a significant difference in what muscles are tightening as he does another rep, and it feels good. More productive, in a way.

Ashton keeps his hands where they are until Calum’s finished the first set. He mourns the loss of contact when Ashton pulls back, but doesn’t say anything as he goes through one exercise after the other. Except for the occasional phrase of encouragement or praise, Ashton remains silent as he watches Calum do his thing. For the millionth or so, Calum thinks that there really isn’t much point in continuing to schedule new appointments with Ashton, at least not as often as they do, because he rarely needs his help anymore. What he’s essentially paying Ashton for is watching him work out and hang out for a little bit afterwards, but he’s not the least bit willing to bring it up.

He finishes his set a little before eight forty-five and spends ten minutes stretching before he wipes sweat off his face. Ashton’s already sat down on the couch, and Calum joins him, leaning his head back, eyes closed, as he waits for his face to cool down and stop producing sweat. When he opens his eyes again, he finds Ashton looking at him with a strange expression on his face; it’s a look that’s something tucked right between joy and wonder, and it makes Calum’s heart skip a beat.

“I know I’ve said this before, but you’re doing really well,” Ashton says, smiling gently. “I don’t know for how long I’ve been coming here now, but you’ve made amazing progress.”

“Reckon it’s been a while now,” Calum chuckles. “The first time you were here was sometime pretty soon after lockdown started and that was… I don’t know, early spring, and it’s almost June now, so…”

“It’s gone fast, hasn’t it?” Ashton muses. “I remember thinking that this whole situation would be over within a month, but it’s been ages now and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna let up anytime soon.”

“Hm, yeah,” Calum says. “It’s gotten to the point where it’s just weird to think about the freedom we used to take for granted, like just the idea of being able to book a flight to, like, Spain or whatever is pretty unthinkable now, but it’s something we used to be able to do on a whim if we felt like it.”

“Remind me to not take those kinds of possibilities for granted again when this is all over, yeah?”

Calum takes a moment to digest that, because the implication is more or less that Ashton thinks they’ll still be in each other’s lives when the world has gone back to normal, whenever that might be.

“Will do,” he says. “So… do you want something to drink?”

Surprisingly, Ashton laughs. Calum loves being able to see all of Ashton’s face when he laughs, how his straight, white teeth are all on display, how his cheekbones pop, and though he knows it’s a little irresponsible of him, he hopes that Ashton will drop the mask whenever he comes around in the future.

“What’s so funny?” Calum asks, grinning.

“Nothing, just… I’m the least professional trainer in history, aren’t I?” Ashton says. “I keep hanging out here even after my work’s done, I drink your beverages, I watch TV with you, and, apparently, I’m wearing your clothes.”

Calum shrugs. “It’s not like I mind any of it. Like, at all.” He hesitates for a beat, considers his  
options, before choosing to add, “You’re good company.”

“Yeah, I… yeah. So are you,” Ashton says. “To be honest I’ve just been hoping that you’d tell me to fuck off if you wanted me to act more professional, but you haven’t yet, so-”

“I don’t,” Calum says quickly. Clasping his hands in his lap and keeping his eyes fixed on them, he smiles. “I like that you act like… well, like you do. It’s nice.”

There’s no response, and Calum turns to look at Ashton, a little nervous that he’s somehow overstepped some unspoken boundary. He finds Ashton simply looking at him, though, and the look of wonder is back, accompanied by a smile.

“Okay, good,” he says. They simply look at each other, unmoving, for a while until Ashton smiles again and shakes his head. “I should probably get going, let you get on with your evening.”

“You don’t have to go,” Calum says, possibly a little too quickly, when Ashton starts getting up. In a sudden display of courage that he wasn’t even aware he was capable of displaying, he continues. “I mean, I was gonna throw together some dinner and I always make way too much, so you’re welcome to stay and have some if you want. Unless you have something to do, I mean, but- yeah. You don’t have to go.”

Ashton looks down at him, his eyes wide and bright. “You’re asking me to stay for dinner?” he asks.

Calum’s already hot all over from the workout, and now he’s fairly certain his cheeks are literally on fire. The smoke detectors might go off any moment. “I- well, I mean, yes?” he says. “If you want to, I mean- I just thought- I don’t know. You’ve gotta eat, right?”

“I do have to eat, yeah,” Ashton says slowly, and Calum almost sighs in relief when Ashton sits down again. “My dinner plan was baked salmon and some veggies that are about to go bad and I was gonna eat it alone on my couch, so… if you can top that, I’ll stay.”

Calum laughs, and it comes out a little hysterical. “I was gonna make chicken with chorizo and potatoes and thyme and… can’t remember everything that goes into it, but I make it all the time and it’s really good. And we’ll probably eat on the couch, but at least you’ll have company.”

“Sounds infinitely better than dry fish and soggy veggies,” Ashton says. Pressing his lips together for a split second, he then grins. “Okay, yeah, I… I’d love to stay for dinner. Thanks. Want me to get started on it while you shower?”

And yeah, that’s also something. “If you don’t mind?” Calum says.

“Not at all,” Ashton says. “I like cooking, remember? What do you want me to do?”

Racking his brain, Calum tries to remember what, exactly, goes into making the dish. “There are some potatoes and a fennel on the counter, so if you could peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges and cut the fennel into thin slices, that’d be great. And, if you have the time, cut six shallots in halves and mince three cloves of garlic? Oh, and turn the oven on, 390 degrees.”

“No problem,” Ashton says as he gets up. “Where are the shallots and garlic?”

“Fridge,” Calum says as he stands up as well. “Should be in one of the drawers at the bottom. Knives and cutting boards are on the counter, next to the stove.”

Ashton simply grins in response before he turns around and heads towards the kitchen. If Calum checks out his ass, no one has to know.

While he showers, Calum ponders the implications of Ashton accepting the offer to stay for dinner and, not least, the fact that he seemed positively thrilled by the prospect. Calum tries desperately to not get his hopes up, but it’s unbelievably hard when he summarises everything that’s happened over the last few weeks. Lingering looks, a suggestive comment or two, the hand Ashton placed on his thigh just the other day, and now they’re having dinner together on a Saturday night… It has to mean something, doesn’t it? He’s not being crazy or naïve?

The same thoughts continue to spin around in his head as he dries himself off and slips into a pair of joggers similar to the ones Ashton is wearing, and an oversized hoodie. When he enters the kitchen, Ashton’s standing by the counter, busy peeling a shallot, while the potatoes, fennel and garlic are already cut up and placed in separate bowls.

“Didn’t know what was going into the pan or whatever at the same time, so I just separated them,” Ashton says when he spots Calum, answering a question Calum wasn’t planning on asking.

“Everything goes into the same casserole at the same time, actually,” Calum says as he grabs a large casserole from the cupboard and starts putting the vegetables in it. “I make a lot of… well, those kinds of dishes.”

“Just easier, innit?” Ashton says. He finishes up with the shallots and steps over to Calum to put them in the casserole. “I mean, especially if you’ve had a long day.”

“Mhm, an easy way to cook something semi-healthy with minimal effort.”

“Minus the chorizo you mentioned, this seems pretty healthy so far.”

“Yeah, well, it’s Saturday and I like chorizo.” Grimacing, he looks at Ashton. “You’re not a complete health nut when it comes to food, are you?”

“My dinner last night was a kebab with extra dressing with a side of fries, so you tell me.”

Calum laughs. “Thank fuck. I don’t think there’s anything I find less attractive in a person than an obsession with eating stupidly healthy day in and day out.”

“Attractive, huh?” Ashton says and he smiles widely as he regards Calum. “So, since I had a kebab for dinner yesterday, that makes me attractive?”

Calum’s eyes widen at their own accord. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he trails off and grinds his teeth. “I don’t know what I meant, but- yeah, sorry.”

“Hey, I’m not allergic to compliments,” Ashton says before he gives Calum’s waist a gentle poke.

“Yeah, no, but I didn’t mean to… shit.” Calum shakes his head and lets out an uneasy laugh. Focusing all his attention on the veggies in the casserole, he tries to pretend he doesn’t notice how Ashton’s looking at him.

Eventually, Ashton sighs audibly and takes a step back. “Anything else you want me to do?”

“No, I’ve got it,” Calum says. “Just… grab whatever you want to drink and go wait on the couch, I’ll come out once the food’s in the oven.”

Ashton does as he’s told, grabs himself a glass of iced tea from the fridge, and then he’s gone, and Calum squeezes his eyes shut. He finishes up the rest of the work almost in a daze. By the time he’s finished, the oven’s long since warm enough, and he puts the casserole in and grabs himself a glass of water before going to the living room.

“Have you seen _The Hobbit_?” Ashton asks as soon as Calum’s sat down next to him on the couch. “The first one, I mean.”

“It’s been a while, but yeah, sure,” Calum says. “Why?”

“I took the liberty of going on your Netflix to find something for us to watch, and it was just sitting there,” Ashton says. “I love _The Lord of the Rings_ , but I haven’t seen _The Hobbit_ yet, so...”

“I like all three of them to be honest,” Calum says. “I know they’ve gotten a lot of shit from the general public, especially the last one, but I think they’re good. The first one especially.”

Ashton brightens up. “Cool, wanna watch it, then?”

“I- well, I mean it’s almost ten o’clock and the movie’s pretty long,” Calum says.

Ashton seems to falter a little before he responds. “Oh, yeah, didn’t think about that,” he says.

“No, it’s not- it’s fine by me, I don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow and it’s been ages since I watched a movie with anyone, but I just figured that, you know, you wanted to make it home before it’s too late and-”

“I don’t have anywhere to be until tomorrow afternoon,” Ashton interrupts, and Calum can’t help but feel pleased when he notices the nervous undertone in his voice. “So… as long as I’m in bed before, like, five o’clock in the morning, it should be okay.”

Calum nods and does his best to suppress the smile that’s tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, alright,” he says. “I don’t think the buses here run after eleven on Saturdays, but I can drive you.”

“Okay, cool,” Ashton says, seemingly pleased. “Wanna start watching now or should we wait until the food’s ready?”

“Nah, just put it on,” Calum says. “Dinner’s not gonna be ready for another half hour or so.”

Ashton doesn’t waste any time in locating the movie and pressing play, and so it is that they sit there side by side on Calum’s couch, as they have so many times before. The difference between tonight and any of the other times is that they’re both in comfortable clothes, Calum isn’t sweaty and disgusting, and that… well, it’s late Saturday evening and they’re watching a movie while waiting for dinner to finish making itself. It feels decidedly different than anything they’ve done together before, and in the most amazing way.

The timer on Calum’s phone beeps a little before ten o’clock, and he bounces to his feet to get the casserole out of the oven, telling Ashton to just keep watching the movie as he goes. He scoops two generous portions into two bowls, sticking a fork and a knife into both, before returning to the living room. Ashton accepts the bowl Calum hands him and takes a sniff before humming happily.

“It smells amazing,” he says.

“Let’s hope it tastes amazing, too.”

They eat in relative silence, save for an occasional noise of gratification from Ashton. While Calum finishes his entire portion and has half a mind to go fetch himself another, Ashton puts his bowl down when there are still a few bits and pieces left and starts massaging his stomach.

“I don’t wanna be rude, but I physically can’t eat more unless you wanna watch me throw up,” he says, groaning softly as he slides even further down until his neck is bent in a seemingly uncomfortable angle against the back cushion.

“You know what,” Calum says as he puts his bowl on the table and sits back on the couch, “as much fun as it would be to watch you throw up, seeing you in pain is just as good.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re an actual sadist,” Ashton says with an unhappy grimace.

“It’s called payback,” Calum says. “You’ve watched me suffer week after week, so this is just… restoration of the… cosmic balance.”

“The cosmic balance,” Ashton repeats, laughing. “Okay, if you say so.”

Calum shrugs, quite pleased with himself for making Ashton laugh. “I’m pretty wise, you see.”

Ashton laughs again, and Calum might have been offended if it wasn’t for the fact that Ashton’s laugh is beautiful and as is his face while he laughs. Swinging his legs up, Ashton turns his entire body as he plonks his calves down on Calum’s lap and rests his head at the couch’s armrest.

Quite taken aback, though not in a negative way, Calum bites his lip on a smile as he puts his hands on Ashton’s legs. Somewhat absentmindedly, he pushes the hem of Ashton’s joggers an inch or two upwards until his ankle is exposed.

“Hairy legs,” he comments as he strokes his fingers up and down a couple of times.

“Thanks,” Ashton snorts. “It’s my main selling point with the guys - hairy legs.”

Calum looks at Ashton, still trailing his fingers up and down. “Guys?” he asks after a second of silence. He doesn’t know if Ashton put that particular piece of information out there on purpose or if it was an accident, but he appreciates it nonetheless. He appreciates it quite a lot, actually. Not that he didn’t already suspect it, but it’s nice to know for sure.

Ashton blinks up at him and drags his tongue along his bottom lip before responding. “Guys, yeah,” he says. “Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s- no, definitely not a problem,” Calum says with a quick shake of his head. As if in an attempt to reassure Ashton, he grabs a careful hold of his ankle and squeezes gently. “Not a problem at all. It’s… yeah. Good.”

Nodding, Ashton sits up slowly, keeping his legs in Calum’s lap. “I’m just gonna…” He doesn’t finish explaining what, exactly, it is he’s gonna do, but his intent quickly becomes clear when he cups Calum’s jaw with both hands, and the next thing Calum knows is that he’s being kissed. It’s careful and tentative and dry and over before Calum even has the time to react properly.

When Ashton pulls back, though keeping his hands on Calum’s face, his eyes are wider and more uncertain than Calum has ever seen them before.

“Was that- please don’t tell me I’ve, like, misinterpreted everything,” Ashton mumbles, biting his upper lip. “I know it’s not professional at all and I’m… I’m really sorry if I overstepped, but I thought you were sending me some signals and I just wanted-”

Calum shuts him up by leaning forward and re-connecting their lips. Ashton stills completely for a fraction of a second before he winds his arms around Calum’s shoulders and starts kissing back. It’s a simple and relatively innocent kiss, but Calum has been waiting for this moment for so long that he can’t help but groan into it, and Ashton wastes no time in dragging his tongue across Calum’s bottom lip. With another groan, Calum mimics Ashton, and before he knows it, they’re making out and Ashton’s climbing into his lap and pushing him onto his back.

Grabbing onto Ashton’s shoulders, Calum parts his legs and Ashton slots in between them as he grabs onto Calum’s waist with one hand and slides the other one to the back of his thigh. Calum does his best to not get too carried away too fast, but Ashton’s a terrific kisser and his body’s all solid muscle yet somehow also soft on top of him, and he can’t quite help it when his hips grind up in search of friction and he has to break the kiss to release a ragged breath.

Ducking down to kiss Calum’s neck, Ashton’s fingers tighten on his thigh. “Is this okay?” he mumbles. “Tell me if it’s not, I don’t wanna-”

“Jesus Christ, shut up,” Calum groans as he leans his head to the side to allow Ashton better access. “Just… continue, please.”

Ashton laughs gruffly before he presses another kiss to Calum’s neck, creating a trail past his jaw before latching onto his lips again. Calum’s fully hard within another minute or two, and he can’t bring himself to care much when he shamelessly bucks his hip up and slips his hands up Ashton’s t-shirt (his own t-shirt, really) and pushes it upwards. Ashton seems to take the hint as he sits up for a moment to shed the t-shirt, and… it’s not that Calum didn’t know that Ashton was in shape, but to see the defined muscles flexing in his arms, shoulders, chest, stomach, everywhere really, is something else entirely.

“Fucking hell,” Calum breathes as he drags his fingers from the top of Ashton’s chest and down to the hemline of the joggers he’s wearing.

Ashton’s only response is to, seemingly effortlessly, pull Calum up into a sitting position and drag the hoodie off him. Tossing the hoodie to the floor, Ashton lies back down on top of Calum and re-attaches their lips. They’re both rock hard in their joggers and as they continue kissing and using their hands to feel every part of each other’s bodies that they can reach, they start grinding against each other, pressure and speed increasing for each thrust.

Calum feels a familiar sort of heat starting to pool in his lower belly, and he breaks the kiss with a moan. “Fuck,” he pants through clenched teeth as his hands keep roaming up and down Ashton’s naked back.

“Too much?” Ashton asks, and he sounds just as desperate as Calum feels.

“No, no, not too much,” Calum says and tilts his head up to place a chaste kiss on Ashton’s lips. “It’s perfect, _you’re_ perfect, but do you wanna maybe move this to the bedroom?”

Ashton swallows soundly before he scrambles to his feet and grabs a hold of Calum’s hands to help him up. “I’m perfect, huh?” he asks as he starts walking backwards to the bedroom.

“Pretty much,” Calum says as he chases Ashton’s lips with his own. They’re connected head to toe as they stumble into the bedroom and fall over on the bed without breaking the kiss. Writhing on top of Ashton, Calum gives a careful bite to his earlobe before moaning, “Shit, just- off, take it off,” as he pulls on Ashton’s joggers and underwear.

Ashton complies immediately, shedding the remainder of his clothes before urging Calum to do the same. With Ashton’s help, Calum manages to wiggle his joggers down to his knees, then uses his feet to get them all the way off and kick them to the floor. He doesn’t have to look down between them to realise that Ashton’s big, and the thought alone makes his own cock twitch and send another surge of heat up his spine.

Hoisting himself up with his palms planted on the mattress to look at Ashton, Calum sucks his bottom lip into his mouth for a moment. “Can I blow you?” he asks. “I’ve wanted to do it for a really fucking long time and I- please? I wanna feel your cock in my mouth, want you to fuck my mouth, make me choke, and-”

“Fucking hell,” Ashton groans, effectively cutting Calum off. Placing both hands on Calum’s head, he pushes him downwards. “You’ve got a filthy mouth on you, in case no one’s ever told you.”

“I’ve been told,” Calum says, but doesn’t give Ashton time to reply before he swallows him down in one go.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Ashton groans as he fists his hands in Calum’s hair and forces him another inch or so down. “You- okay, you know what- _shit_ , what you’re doing, but-” He’s cut off completely when Calum pulls back his foreskin and starts circling the head of his cock with his tongue. His hips snap up and Calum nearly chokes when the tip of Ashton’s cock hits the back of his throat, but he manages to keep it together. He hums somewhat desperately as his balls clench painfully and his cock twitches, desperate for any kind of attention.

“If you- if you keep doing that, this isn’t- fuck, this isn’t gonna last long,” Ashton forces out as Calum keeps sucking carefully, but determined. Raising his knees for his legs to frame Calum’s shoulders, Ashton digs his fingers into Calum’s scalp, and thrusts up one time before Calum pulls off and looks up at him under heavy eyelids.

“Are you gonna be here tomorrow morning?” Calum asks as he wipes his chin.

“What?” Ashton asks, staring down at Calum, his chest heaving. When Calum simply continues to look, he nods slowly. “Yeah, I… I’d like to. Why?”

“Because I wanted you to fuck me, or to fuck you, whatever you prefer, but if you’re gonna be here when I wake up, we can save it for then,” Calum says. Ducking down, he drags his tongue from the base of Ashton’s cock and up to the head, before swallowing all the way down in one go.

“Good idea,” Ashton says in between heavy breaths as he once again grabs a solid hold of Calum’s hair. “Don’t think I’d be- Christ… don’t think I’d be able to fuck you very well right now anyway, it’s- fucking- _fuck_!”

Ashton starts fucking up into Calum’s mouth, and Calum does all he can to relax his throat. Relishing in the feeling of Ashton tugging at his hair, at the feeling of Ashton’s cock repeatedly hitting the back of his throat, and at the downright obscene noises that come out of Ashton’s mouth, Calum grinds down against the mattress.

“Just fucking ridiculous,” Ashton groans as he continues fucking into Calum’s mouth at an increasing speed. “Just- just ridiculous how good your- your mouth is. B-been wanting this for too fucking long and it’s- _shit_ it’s so unprofessional of me but you- fuck, you’re amazing and I-”

He’s cut off when Calum starts fondling his balls, and his grip on Calum’s hair tightens. “Christ, I- don’t stop,” he says in between gasps. “Don’t stop, I’m gonna- fuck, can I- can I come in your mouth?”

Calum simply responds by tightening his jaw the slightest bit, and he wants to sob with the need to get a hand on his own cock. Putting every ounce of willpower he has to use, he resists, and instead focuses on the beautiful man underneath him, who’s rendered damn near speechless as he fucks Calum’s mouth until his hips start stuttering and he groans, “Coming, I- I’m coming,” and pushes Calum as far down on his cock as possible.

Calum swallows down the best he can, and when Ashton starts squirming underneath him with oversensitivity, he pulls off and licks his lips. He can’t find it in himself to do anything but crawl up to flop on his back next to Ashton before grabbing a hold of his own cock and giving himself no more than three pulls before he’s spilling all over his own stomach, moaning breathlessly as he does.

His entire body goes limp afterwards, and he drops his hand to the mattress as his breathing comes and goes in a shaky pattern. He’s only vaguely aware of the arm being draped over his waist and Ashton pressing a number of kisses to his shoulder and neck.

“Not how I… expected this day to go,” Ashton mumbles eventually, rubbing his nose against Calum’s neck.

Calum chuckles tiredly as he slips his arm around Ashton’s shoulders and threads his fingers through his hair. “No?”

“Not really, no,” Ashton says, and Calum can hear the smile in his voice. “It was a very, very welcome twist, but I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Hm, me neither.” 

“Can’t believe you didn’t let me help you out at all, though.”

“Too far gone, baby,” Calum chuckles. Summoning the very last remnants of strength in his body, he flips over on his side and props himself up on one elbow. Ashton’s still on his back, eyelids heavy with exhaustion, yet a smile every so present on his lips. Leaning down, Calum presses a brief, but deep kiss to his lips. “So… you’ve been wanting this for a long time, huh?”

Ashton laughs and drags his hands across his face. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m the least professional PT in history, but… yeah. I have. And not just because you’re hot, I swear.”

Calum grins. “Hey, I’d take it.”

“I’m sure you would, but…” Ashton smiles as he drifts off, then shrugs. “That’s not all of it. I like you. A lot, actually.”

Calum struggles a bit to contain his smile when he says, “I like you a lot, too.”

“Thank fuck,” Ashton says as he raises his arms and promptly drags Calum down to rest on his chest. “I thought I spotted some signs here and there, but acting on it was a little… frightening, because God knows I didn’t want a sexual harassment-suit on my hands, so-”

“I was thinking the same thing at some point, actually,” Calum laughs, burying his face in Ashton’s chest. “I have no idea what the policy of hitting on people you’re paying is, but I didn’t wanna make an absolute ass of myself and then have you sue me for sexual harassment.”

“You can probably stop paying me now,” Ashton says. “Truth to be told, you haven’t really needed me for PT-purposes in ages, but you kept wanting to schedule new appointments and I didn’t wanna lose the opportunity to see you regularly, so I just went along with it.”

“Oh, yeah, I was wondering if you’d thought about that, actually, but… good to know you did.”

Ashton hums and kisses Calum’s forehead. “We should probably, like, stop the PT stuff anyway, otherwise I’m gonna start feeling like a prostitute.” There’s a moment of silence, then he adds, in a far softer tone, “If you wanna continue this… thing, that is.”

Tightening his hold around Ashton’s waist, Calum reaches for the covers with his free hand and throws it over them both. His upper body’s sticky with cum, but he can’t bring himself to care. “I really, really do,” he murmurs. “Like I said, I like you a lot, so…”

Calum feels Ashton nod, then another kiss is planted on his forehead. “I like you a lot, too.”

Sleepiness is starting to take over Calum’s conscience, but he still manages to get out a whisper of, “Hey, did you... check out my ass during one of our appointments several weeks ago, or... was that just wishful thinking on my part?”

He’s only vaguely aware of Ashton’s laugh above him and the soft, “I don’t know what exact situation you’re referring to, but I can pretty much guarantee that it wasn’t just wishful thinking.”

The last thing Calum remembers before he falls asleep is clutching Ashton tighter and murmuring, “That makes me happy. Good night.”

Calum doesn’t know it there and then, but Ashton stays awake for a long time after he's fallen asleep. He can’t help but stare at the man asleep on his chest, occasionally kissing whatever part of him he can reach and hoping that the following morning is gonna be the first of many, many mornings they greet together.


End file.
